Chapter 923: Difficult Problem

Chapter 923: Chapter 923: Difficult Problem

Four dishes and two soups, each one delicious beyond Ling Feng’s expectations. If he hadn’t seen them actually busy in the kitchen, Ling Feng might have thought they had a top-notch chef hidden in there!

Receiving Ling Feng’s praise, the three women laughed joyfully. For this welcome-back dinner, they had actually sought out chefs to teach them cooking skills. After more than half a month of practice, they finally managed to create satisfying dishes.

Though there had been plenty of challenges along the way, seeing Ling Feng’s contented face made them feel it was all worth it.

The four ate while discussing the events of the past month. Even though the three women didn’t ask, Ling Feng voluntarily shared some details, though he glossed over the more dangerous moments.

Even so, the three women still listened with anxiety clenching their hearts. They hadn’t realized Ling Feng was facing such perilous tasks abroad.

"What’s with those expressions?" Ling Feng chuckled. "Those things are nothing to me—don’t worry. I wouldn’t let anything happen to myself, not even for your sakes!"

"Even so, caution never hurts," Liu Tingyu said softly. "We’re not the kind of women who don’t know what’s important. We’ll never beg or cry and weigh you down, but I just want to remind you, no matter who you face out there, never forget—we sisters are here waiting for you to return home!"

Yun Hanrui and Wei Meizi nodded in agreement. Ling Feng smiled warmly, a current of comfort rushing through his heart. "Alright, I promise you all: no matter who the enemy is, I will never be careless. No matter what challenges arise, I will never give up—because I know, at home, my loved ones are waiting for me!"

The four of them exchanged glances and smiles, savoring the kind of warmth and atmosphere Ling Feng had long yearned for.

"Oh, I ran into something interesting at the airport today!" Ling Feng said. "I vaguely overheard someone talking about a guy named Levstin, who seems connected to Chen Ningxue somehow."

Yun Hanrui chimed in, "Speaking of that, I was just about to tell you. Guess what happened with Xiaoxue recently?"

"How would I know?" Ling Feng rolled his eyes. "Does it have something to do with that Levstin?"

"Of course!" Yun Hanrui said proudly. "Xiaoxue became Huaxia’s first artist to win the Grammy Award for Best Song, defeating Levstin, who was the top contender at the time!"

Ling Feng was taken aback. "Xiaoxue won a Grammy Award?"

The American Grammy Awards are the world’s highest music honors. Historically, Grammys have been dominated by North American and European artists, with Asian artists rarely even earning nominations. But Chen Ningxue had unexpectedly broken through and won Best Song—this was undeniably monumental news!

"When the news broke, the entire Huaxia was stunned. Xiaoxue is now a bona fide queen of the music world. Even veteran divas wouldn’t dare underestimate her anymore!" Yun Hanrui said. "But Levstin claimed Xiaoxue’s song lacked the level necessary for the Grammy Award and even asserted she’s far superior to Xiaoxue. I don’t know where her confidence comes from!"

"So, did she come to Huaxia to stir up trouble?" Ling Feng couldn’t help but laugh.

"Kind of!" Yun Hanrui said. "Sister Meizi knows more about this than I do!"

Wei Meizi spoke up then, "Here’s the story. Originally, Cameron’s film had selected Levstin’s song for its ending theme, but after hearing Xiaoxue’s song, he decided to use hers instead. Levstin couldn’t accept this, so she rushed here from America."

"Having already lost the Grammy to Xiaoxue, if she also loses the ending theme to Xiaoxue, she—this little diva of the Western pop world—would truly find herself overshadowed by Chen Ningxue," Yun Hanrui added.

Ling Feng shook his head. "What’s the big deal? Anyway, I think her trip will be pointless. Cameron is such a perfectionist that he wouldn’t allow even a single imperfection in his film. Since he chose Xiaoxue’s song, it clearly means hers is more perfect and fits the film better than Levstin’s!"

"I didn’t realize you knew Cameron so well!" Wei Meizi said. "So, you’re old acquaintances—that explains why you’re so familiar with him!"

Ling Feng chuckled, neither confirming nor denying it, and then said, "Let’s drop this topic. Have any of you encountered any unresolved problems recently?"

The three women exchanged glances, a flicker of hesitation passing between them.

It didn’t escape Ling Feng’s notice. "Don’t hesitate. I can tell something’s bothering you—spill it!"

Yun Hanrui sighed and began, "It’s about the Biotech Park. Back when Chaoyang Group partnered with Yanjing City to establish the ecological park, now that the project is complete, many major corporations want a piece of the action. Even though we have Yanjing City backing us, the pressure is still immense!"

This left Ling Feng a bit puzzled. "What pressure could there be? Did something happen in the middle of all this?"

Yun Hanrui shot Ling Feng a look and explained, "Originally, the park was led primarily by Chaoyang Group. Even when other corporations joined in, they were meant to follow our lead. That was the original agreement with Yanjing City. But now..."

"Now a lot of corporations want to claim greater control over the project, especially Asia-Pacific Biotech Group. They’re even stronger than Chaoyang Group, and they’ve proposed to Yanjing City that they take the lead. If this happens, Chaoyang Group will be relegated from leading to supporting, which would hurt us significantly!"

Ling Feng furrowed his brow. "Has Yanjing City agreed to this?"

"Not yet," Yun Hanrui said with a bitter smile. "But I think they’ll likely give in before long."

Ling Feng thought for a moment and said, "Logically speaking, this is a major political achievement for Yanjing City—how could they let Asia-Pacific Biotech Group take charge? After all, Chaoyang Group is a local enterprise!"

"But Asia-Pacific Biotech Group has promised that if they take the lead, they’ll gradually relocate their operations back to Huaxia," Yun Hanrui said with a sigh. "That’s a temptation the higher-ups can hardly resist."

Asia-Pacific Biotech Group is globally renowned, and its founder, Madam Chen, is of Chinese descent. If the group genuinely relocated back to the homeland, it’d mean an enormous political win!

"What a cunning move!" Ling Feng muttered coldly after some thought. "They’re really reaching far with this attempt to snatch away credit!"